Navigating Your Best Life

Writing

“There are things that we don’t want to happen but have to accept, things we don’t want to know but have to learn, and people we can’t live without but have to let go.” ~Author Unknown

Life is a tough road sometimes. We’ve all had our fair share of ups and downs.

Sometimes it feels like a journey of ongoing contradictions. One minute we’re celebrating successes; the next we’re mourning a defeat or loss of some type.

English journalist Henry James Slack described human life as “the source of deep suffering and gorgeous hope.”

Now there’s a quote I can relate to.

And the ways in which we suffered or fell short in the past year become more apparent as it draws to a close. This is when we reflect on our wins and losses and try to determine how to improve, despite the silent fear that we’ll fail again.

However, a new year always offers hope. The hope that we’ll conquer our worries and accomplish our goals. We’ve gained fresh wisdom through trial and error, so we restore our settings back to the factory defaults and try again.

Writing was one of my defeats in 2018; I’ve been away from my blog for a long time. With the exception of an occasional quote or photo challenge, I’ve been pretty much absent for over a year.

I could feel it happening shortly after I took the job and as my Mom’s health started to decline. There was a lot happening around me, both good and bad, that provided plenty of material to write about. However, the creative part of my brain took the last train for the coast, to borrow a line from Don McLean’s American Pie. I got too busy with the mechanics of everyday life.

We writers periodically hit dry spells, better known as writer’s block.Opinions vary about why it happens, but in my case it was a combination of fear and fatigue.

Adjusting to a new job means new people and building relationships. It brings us to different places and encounters and offers daily challenges that we didn’t have before. Despite requiring more time and energy, the overall experience has been positive.

However, watching your mother’s health deteriorate has the opposite effect. It also brought me to different places and encounters, and involved new challenges. Unfortunately, these responsibilities and their accompanying emotions left me exhausted and empty.

I didn’t want to stop writing, but I couldn’t muster the will or the words. This blog is supposed to be about self-reflection, learning from the past, and living more mindfully. However, I was just too tired. The analysis required to look deeply within myself and the situations around me had to wait for another day.

And yet, I was angry with myself. I felt that writing about my experiences might actually alleviate some of the sadness and self-doubt. Looking back I wonder if I was afraid to face the feelings in the same way we’re afraid to look in the mirror after a bad haircut. You know it’s there and you know it’s ugly, so better to ignore it until it grows back. Or, in this situation, disappears altogether.

I didn’t want my mother to go into a nursing home, but I knew that my siblings and I couldn’t take care of her any longer.

Mom lost her mobility, requiring a wheelchair and round-the-clock care. Moving her to a nursing home was a tough decision, particularly after watching my dad’s time in a dementia unit. She didn’t want to go, although she never said so. But, we knew, just as she did, that her care was beyond our capabilities.

I formed a mental list in my head of the pros and cons. The cons were obvious, but I promised to make regular visits and get Mom involved in the activities. Just when I convinced myself that “all would be well” the guilt would wash over me again.

And the underlying grief of this was knowing she was never coming home. I went through it with my dad and it’s a feeling you never forget. Like a death in slow-motion you watch your loved one fade away, grieving together, while trying to pretend it isn’t happening.

While all of this was occurring there was another tragedy unfolding. My ex-husband, who had a long history of alcohol abuse, was spiraling downward physically and mentally. Forty years of drinking had taken its toll.

I didn’t want him to suffer, but it wasn’t my choice. During the marriage I tried to convince him to get help, but the addiction was stronger than his desire to save himself. Eventually, I mustered the courage to leave, but it took a long time to work through the pain and repair the damage.

Our own words and actions often impact the circumstances of our lives, while much is beyond our control. I could have made the effort to write something during this past year, but I couldn’t stop my mom from growing old.

Reaching our potential has much to do with choices and expectations. They must align with one another if we want to reach our goals. Being realistic about a reasonable timeframe is necessary. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Therefore, I’m going into 2019 with these thoughts in mind:

The Serenity Prayer – Learning to accept what I can’t control, working courageously to make positive changes where I can, and knowing the difference between the two.

Realizing there are important lessons to learn in all situations, even unfavorable ones.

Understanding that strong boundaries promote healthy relationships, which can withstand the ups and downs of life.

Like this:

“Without love, the rich and poor live in the same house.” ~ Author Unknown

How would it feel to live a life without love?

Imagine relating to other people on a purely superficial level without ever knowing their hopes and dreams, or struggles and fears. Only seeing the outside physical persona and never getting a glimpse of the inside where emotions and feelings dwell.

Imagine if you never truly shared yourself? Your own ambitions and goals; fears, and failures. The countless life experiences, both good and bad, destined to stay locked up in your own heart and mind.

One would assume that these aren’t conscious choices. Why on earth would someone deliberately avoid the intimacy that makes life so meaningful?

These familiar associations and deep levels of understanding are the hallmarks of loving relationships. They can exist with lovers, parents, children, and other people who have a prominent role in our lives.

The first contact we have with other human beings is our family of origin. Usually, this is a mother, father, and siblings.

Sometimes it’s a single parent, another relative, or foster parents. Regardless of whom our first caretakers are we’re directly affected by if and how they nurture.

Some of us get lucky and are born into good families. They possess the ability to set proper boundaries while allowing us the freedom to learn and explore.

They invest a lot of resources into our growth and development and these youngsters have the best chance for success in life.

Some of us end up abused and neglected; throwaway children largely left to fend for themselves. Their parents are absentee, addicted to drugs and alcohol, or struggling with the ill-effects from their own childhoods. Exposed to such negative circumstances and lacking love and guidance the outlook for these kids is very poor.

These are the extremes and there are many variations in between. However, love itself can be divided into two types:

Unconditional love

Unconditional love is neutral and has no opposite. Because it comes from the spirit it’s available to everyone. We’re not required to do anything to qualify for it.

When we decide to think and act in ways based on unconditional love, it doesn’t automatically mean that we agree with everyone and everything. It does mean that we make a conscious decision to respect and show kindness to others despite our differences.

We reap many positive benefits in all areas of our lives (physical, mental, emotional) from loving unconditionally.

Conditional love

Conversely, conditional love is a polarized emotion and has an opposite, which is hate.

When we love someone conditionally we expect certain things from them. We want them to think and act according to our own paradigms. If they want to receive our love and approval, they must meet those expectations.

Conditional love causes us to believe that “I’m right and you’re wrong, so you should think the way I do.” When we begin to judge someone as being right or wrong, we assume authority over them. This leads to controlling behavior without regard to the other person’s thoughts and feelings.

Both types of love are seen in a wide variety of households.

Initially, one would assume that higher levels of education and socioeconomic factors would guarantee unconditional love. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case.

Unhealthy, controlling relationships aren’t limited to lower-income families. They thrive in better neighborhoods, as well. Our true personalities are a direct result of how we were raised and not our financial portfolios.

Some of the kindest, most generous people possess very little in the way of material assets. Yet, they are genuine and honest, never attempting to pad their resume in order to be something they’re not. They give freely, with no strings attached. They love unconditionally.

Then there are those people who define themselves according to what they’ve accumulated in life: houses, cars, country-club memberships, etc. They fall into the trap of trying to impress and “keep up with the Joneses.”

Instead of building and maintaining healthy relationships, they focus on status and image. This creates flawed expectations of themselves and those closest to them. They confuse love for control.

People must feel kindness towards themselves and possess self-confidence in order to live authentically. They must have the encouragement of family and friends to be who they truly are. This need for acceptance begins in childhood. If they don’t receive loving affirmation then feelings of inadequacy can deeply and negatively affect the rest of their lives.

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.If children live with fairness, they learn justice.If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.

My mother introduced this poem to me and I referred to it often as I raised my own children. It made good sense then and even more as I’ve grown older.

To be loved and accepted for our strengths, in spite of our faults, can only occur between people who understand and practice the art of intimacy.